Loyalist killer Michael Stone has written to Northern Secretary Peter Hain stating that his recent attack on Parliament Buildings, Stormont, was an exercise in performance art influenced by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Eamonn McCann.
Stone, in the "open letter" from Maghaberry prison to Mr Hain, PSNI chief constable Sir Hugh Orde, and speaker of the Transitional Assembly Eileen Bell, apologised for anyone who may have been "adversely affected by my work in performance art".
"My family, friends, all victims' relatives of the Troubles, politicians and former comrades, my profound apologies to you all," said Stone.
He was referring to how, on Friday, November 24th, he launched what appeared to be a gun and bomb attack as the Assembly was meeting at Parliament Buildings. His handgun, it later emerged, was a replica weapon. Stone was prevented from getting to the debating chamber by two security guards.
Stone, who murdered three men at Milltown cemetery in 1988, describes himself as an "artist and author" in his letter. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison but released under licence under the Belfast Agreement's early release scheme for paramilitary prisoners.
That licence has been revoked and he is now due to serve another 18 years in prison.
Stone, however, described his attack as an exhibition of his performance art, entitled Never Say Never. It was designed to illustrate "the futility of the politically motivated violence created in a political vacuum".
"The unfinished work, while extreme, had the desired effect in that it highlighted the need for political stability in Ulster and the obvious threat that without devolution and a sustained period of powersharing between democrats, the spectre of our troubled past may return to haunt us."
The inspiration for his work came from a variety of influences including Picasso's Guernica, an anti-war protest in Derry by socialist and journalist Eamonn McCann, and the Rev Ian Paisley and Rev Ian Foster protesting against the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985.
An application by Stone for bail was adjourned yesterday by Mr Justice McLaughlin at the High Court in Belfast. He is charged with attempting to murder Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and two security guards on November 24th.
